From the 1st chapter I really liked this book. We're told encouraging news from the get-go, it only because a matter of waiting for the details to be shared ... Fantastic! It keeps you encouraged and gives you hope for the orphans :-)

My *FAVORITE* part of this entire book has to be the part not shared because the writer decides to give a certain someone some privacy and not share a private moment. I think it's *awesome* because I can totally relate :-) My private moments are kept private and I think it's adorable that the author gave this character the same treatment. ADORABLE! Loved it :-)

Some new developments in the 10th book of A Series of Unfortunate Events: "The Slippery Slope" finds Sunny having to deal with Count Olaf and gang by herself for most of the story. She is just as resourceful and clever as the two older Baudelaires (of course), and by the end of the book she can proudly and accurately proclaim that she "is not a baby." A few persons from prior books reappear to the consternation and bafflement of our heroes. Violet and Klaus are united with an unexpected survivor of a horrible fire and walk a slippery slope themselves between becoming as monstrous as Count Olaf in trying to save their sister or retaining the goodness instilled in them by their deceased parents. I'm getting somewhat impatient and anxious to get to the end of the series. Will good triumph over evil? Highly, unlikely, and yet I read on... ( )

Definitely one of the weirder books in the series. The whole thing takes place on a mountain, with Sunny in Count Olaf's clutches and Violet and Klaus trying to get her back. There were some real breakthrough's in the whole VFD case, but not nearly enough for it to have started to make any sense. I love how at this point, absolutely nothing is realistic, and the author has given up any pretence of acting as such. These books are just really, really good. ( )

It's been interesting to watch the evolution of this series. The first four books certainly followed a particular formula with slight changes. The tone was almost gothic, with an attempt at dark humor. The next two stepped out a little farther, but remained close to that formula. Each book seemed to become more action based. With the seventh book, the arc that made this a series began to tighten. Over the next few books, the series became more of a mystery. And here, with book ten, The Slippery Slope the facts begin to come together; finally, I am drawn into more than just the individual plight of the Baudelaire children—I want to unmask the global conspiracy that lies at the heart of these unfortunate events.

The Slippery Slope wasn't the funniest in the series. It certainly wasn't the most action packed or memorable of the stories. What it is however, is that moment of reward—the “we're finally getting somewhere” moment. And that can be one of the greatest moments of a series. People don't want answers, they want those moments before they get their answers, as they sit on the edge of their seat waiting. Think about it, The X-Files was at its best when Scully's cancer was a big unknown and Mulder's life-long belief was being tested. Lost was at its best when we were given glimpses of the past and the future, but had no idea what the common thread was. I have a feeling A Series of Unfortunate Events will shake out the same way. I'm eager to have the answers, but I think the next couple of books, the moments when the clues are falling but haven't been pieced together yet, will be the best of the series.

I love the series. But I'm getting a little bored... I mean, it's not that the books are boring or anything. I guess I'm just not one for series. But I am going to finish reading them all anyway. But, yeah, Lemony Snicket is a wickedly awesome author. ( )

For Beatrice -- When we met, you were pretty, and I was lonely. Now, I am pretty lonely.

First words

A man of my acquaintance once wrote a poem called "The Road Less Traveled," describing a journey he took through the woods along a path most travelers never used.

Quotations

But I will take a page from the book of the Snow Scout leader, and skip ahead to the next interesting thing that happened, which was very, very late at night, when so many interesting parts of stories happen and so many people miss them because they are asleep in their beds, or hiding in the broom closet of a mustard factory, disguised as a dustpan to fool the night watchwoman.

"Busheney," Sunny said, which meant something along the lines of, "You're an evil man with no concern whatsoever for other people."

Last words

As Sunny said, she and her siblings did not know where to go, and they didn't know how to get there, but the Baudelaire orphans were winding there anyway, and this is one thing I know for certain.

What would you do if you found yourself trapped in a runaway caravan hurtling down a precipitous mountain slope? Fourteen-year-old Violet, the oldest orphan of the three Baudelaires, decides to try to slow the velocity of the caravan with a drag-chute invention involving a viscous combination of blackstrap molasses, maple syrup, maraschino liqueur, peanut butter, etc. If plummeting to their death weren't scary enough, Violet and her brother Klaus have been separated from Sunny, their baby sister who is in a car headed in the opposite direction up the mountain with the "facinorous" Count Olaf, his "villainous and stylish" girlfriend Esmé Squalor, and their creepy sidekicks. Do Violet and Klaus find Sunny on the mountain? How will they survive the treacherous, snow-covered peaks with not much more than a ukulele and a bread knife, especially in the face of the "organized, ill-tempered" snow gnats? Will they finally unearth the mystery of the V.F.D.? Will they find out if one of their parents is alive after all? The suspense! As ever, the Baudelaires' unfolding tale of woe is sprinkled with Lemony Snicket's ridiculous, hilarious observations such as "Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant with odd waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like." The tenth book in The Series of Unfortunate Events takes readers through the Mortmain Mountains to the churning waters of the Stricken Stream with all the coexistent horror and silliness a Snicket fan could hope for along the way. (Ages 9 and older) --Karin Snelson

In the perilous Mortmain Mountains, Klaus and Violet Baudelaire meet another well-read person, who helps them try to rescue Sunny from the villainous Count Olaf and his henchmen as they all near "the last safe place."